Chapter
16:
The Lie of Tithing

Matt.23:23

Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees,
hypocrites! for ye pay tithe of mint, and anise, and cummin,
and
have omitted the weightier matters of the law, judgement, mercy, and
faith: these ye ought to have done, and not to leave the other
undone.

24

Ye blind guides! which strain at
a gnat, and swallow a camel.

Here we have the only occasion in the New
Testament where Our Lord tells
anyone to pay tithes. Those who teach that Christians must pay
tithes
refer to this verse as the proof that Our Lord Jesus Christ established
the continuance of the Mosaic Law of Tithing for His Church. These
modern
TITHE-TEACHERS then go on to define TITHING for their congregations:
10%
of everything you get.

These TITHE-TEACHERS are liars. The following
facts will be established
in this article.

The Mosaic Law of Tithing was never 10% of everything you get.

The Temple (now considered to be the church-house) did not
receive
all of the tithes that were given by the Israelites.

Tithing was neither commanded nor observed in the early church.

Tithing as a covenant of prosperity is effective only for those
who
seek to be justified by the Law.

Those who demand 10% of everything you get, are identified with
the Scribes and the Pharisees, who were
the historic enemies of Christ.

THE MOSAIC LAW OF TITHING WAS NEVER 10% OF EVERYTHING
YOU GET

Deut.14:22

Thou shalt truly tithe all the increase
of thy seed, that the field bringeth forth year
by year.

The ancient Israelite calculated and paid his tithes
only once
per year, after the harvest. During the year, he bought
and
sold, exchanged his labour for other men's goods, and his goods for
other
men's labours; on none of this income did he pay any tithes.
All year long, he and his family ate of the increase of the
land and
of the livestock. What he consumed in the course of the year
was
not recorded and added to his total harvest for the purpose of
calculating
his tithes. If he went fishing and caught ten fish in the
middle
of the year, he ate them all; he didn't save one of them to the
end of the year in order to pay tithes on his fish. If he
received
some gold or silver in an inheritance, he was not required to pay tithes
on his inheritance. It is simply ludicrous to propose that the
Israelites
were required to keep careful records of everything they got during the
year, in order to make sure that they paid exactly ten percent of
"everything
they got" as a tithe.

he Israelite was not commanded to tithe on
everything he obtained and
used throughout the year, but only on his increase at the end
of
the year. The same thing is true with a business in that a certain
amount
of the income is consumed in maintaining the operation. It is notable
how
the modern tithe teachers expect the ordinary working man to fork over
10% of his every paycheck before his bills or his taxes are paid. While
on the other hand, if there is some rich man in the church that owns a
large and flourishing business, that rich man is allowed to pretend
that
a large portion of his total income is not subject to the same law. Let
me point out to you how ridiculous is this distinction: The business
owner
puts his company truck in the company name, and makes his payments with
a company check. He has his gasoline credit cards in the company name,
and pays those bills with a company check. So also with his insurance.
After all these major operational expenses are paid for, he then pays
himself
whatever he will in a payroll check made out to himself. He is only
expected
to pay tithes on that check.

The ordinary working man who must have a car to
drive to work has all
these same expenses to meet, but he is expected to pay tithes on his
total
income BEFORE he pays for his car, his gas, and his insurance!

The hypocrisy is obvious! Can't you see that the
ordinary working man
needs his car in order to conduct his own "business"? The only
difference between the man who works for a paycheck and the man who
owns
his own company is a piece of paper. The working man pays a much higher
percentage of his total income than the rich business owner, who has
all
sorts of "deductions" that he can calculate from his "personal"
income. None of these tithe-teachers EVER demands that business owners
pay tithes on their total business income, because they KNOW HOW FAR
THEY
CAN GO! It's hypocrisy, and oppression of the poorer people in the
church!

Tithes were only calculated and paid once per
year in the Hebrew
nation. All year long the farmer ate of the produce of his land, and
used
that produce to run the business of his farm. At the end of the
harvest,
tithes were calculated. The rich farmer who employed 20 herdsmen and 20
field hands did not get to take any more "deductions" than the
poor farmer who had no employees. The yearly tithe was a simple
calculation against the increase of the field at harvest time
and
the total herd of livestock on hand. This calculation did not include
certain
capital expenditures which effectually reduced the amount of the tithe.
For
example:
a
farmer has 70 sheep, and 30 sheep are born during the
year,
so he now has 100 sheep: but he needs an ox to plow his fields, so he
trades
30 sheep for one ox. At the end of the year, he only pays tithes
on 70 sheep, and he gets to keep his ox. The tithe of the
livestock
was always calculated against the total herd on hand, but only once per
year, and there was an exception made for the poor: If a man started
off
with 10 sheep; 3 sheep were born in the course of the year, and he ate
4 adult sheep, he now has only nine sheep. If he still had only nine
sheep
at the end of the year, he was not required to give one of those sheep
to the Lord as a tithe, even though he ate 4 sheep (Lev.27:32).
The Mosaic law of tithing was never 10% of everything you get.

THE TEMPLE (now considered to be the church-house) DID
NOT RECEIVE ALL OF THE TITHES THAT WERE GIVEN BY THE ISRAELITES.

Num.18:26

Thus speak unto the Levites, and
say unto them, When ye take of the children of Israel the tithes
which I have given you from them for your inheritance, then ye shall
offer
up an heave offering of it for the Lord, even a TENTH part of the tithe.

28

Thus ye also shall offer an heave
offering unto the Lord of all your tithes which ye receive of
the
children of Israel, and ye shall give thereof the Lord's heave offering
unto Aaron the priest.

As a matter of fact, the priests of the Temple
did not receive any tithes
directly from the people at all. Only the Levites were entitled to
receive
tithes, and they paid a tithe of the tithe to the
priests.
Thus, the priests and the temple only received ONE TENTH of the tithes!
The
bulk
of
the support of the priests and the Temple came from the
other
offerings that were commanded under the law.

Deut.14:23

And thou shalt eat before
the Lord thy God, in the place which He shall choose to place His name
there, the tithe of thy corn, of thy wine, and of thine oil,
and
the firstlings of thy herds; that thou mayest learn to fear the Lord
thy
God always.

Who is eating the tithe? Not the
Levite, not the priest!
In Israel, every family was expected to make it to Jerusalem once per
year
to visit the Temple. Some of their tithes were used to defray
the
expenses of the trip and may have been used to make the other offerings
that were commanded separately under the Law. They were eating and
drinking
from their own tithes! This is further confirmed in the verses that
follow:

Deut.14:24

And if the way be too long for
thee, so that thou art not able to carry it; or if the place be too far
from thee, which the Lord thy God shall choose to set His name there,
when
the Lord thy God hath blessed thee;

25

Then shalt thou turn it into money,
and bind up the money in thine hand, and shalt go unto the place which
the Lord thy God shall choose:

26

And thou shalt bestow that money
for whatsoever thy soul lusteth after, for oxen, or for sheep, or for
wine,
or for strong drink, or for whatsoever thy soul desireth: and thou
shalt
eat there before the Lord thy God, and thou shalt rejoice, thou,
and
thine household.

Oh! How I would love to take some time with verse
26, and talk about
the wine and the strong drink that you were allowed to
buy
for yourself with the tithes, but we'll save that for another
time.
Suffice it to say, that the tithes were used to finance the family
pilgrimage
to Jerusalem once per year. Not only were they not paying tithes on
"everything
they got", but they were consuming some of the tithes themselves!

Deut.14:27

And the Levite that is within
thy gates; thou shalt not forsake him; for he hath no part nor
inheritance
with thee.

28

At the end of three years
thou shalt bring forth all the tithe of thine increase the same
year, and shall lay it up within thy gates:

29

And the Levite, (because he hath
no part nor inheritance with thee,) and the stranger, and the
fatherless,
and the widow, which are within thy gates, shall come, and shall eat,
and
be satisfied; that the Lord thy God may bless thee in all the work of
thine
hand which thou doest.

Tithing in ancient Israel was income tax.
Whatever they consumed in
the course of the year did not have to be included in the calculation,
and once every three years the ENTIRE tithe was given to the
local
Levites and the poor people in their own town. The Levites functioned
as
magistrates and school teachers in the villages in which they resided,
so the tithe of the third year was given for the
support
of the local judiciary, and the funding of health, education, and
welfare.

Only once every three years does it say that the
ENTIRE tithe was given
away, and in that case, NONE OF IT was brought to the Temple: but to
the
Levites and the poor people in their own towns. This is reiterated in
Deut.
26:12 and Amos 4:4 (see also Tobit 1:7 in the Apocrypha). It is very
difficult
to come up with an exact set of figures on who got how much of the
tithes
in the end; but one thing is sure: the Temple in Jerusalem was not
collecting
10% of the total income of the people, and at least 1/3 of the tithes
were
given to support education and poor people in their own community. How
anyone with an honest mind can take the Mosaic Law of Tithing and come
up with, "10 cents out of every dollar that passes through your hands
belongs to the local church", eludes me. I conclude that they don't
have honest minds.

The doctrine of tithing, as it is taught and
received by many Christians
today, is a LIE: it is a fabrication by clergymen, who fear that they
will
be unable to win the love and free hearted support of their
congregations,
and so, they have decided to scare their people into handing over the
cash.
It cannot be found in, or defended from the Law of Moses. It is not
universally
or fairly applied to all church members. You can bet that every tithe-
teacher in Christendom has scoured the Bible to find support for their
doctrine, and what they found did not favor their cause. They have
ignored
and misrepresented the Bible, and lied to you about this. Those who
bear
false witness in order to get your money are no less accountable than
those
who refuse to trust God with their money.

TITHING WAS NEITHER COMMANDED NOR OBSERVED IN THE EARLY
CHURCH

2Cor.9:7

Every man according as he purposeth
in his heart, so let him give; not grudgingly, or of necessity: for God
loveth a cheerful giver.

Will somebody please show me where in the New
Testament we can find
any of the believers paying tithes, or any of the Apostles asking for
tithes?
The epistles are full of discussions about giving for the support of
preachers,
teachers, and the poor: but no where do any of the Apostles ask for
tithes
or remind anyone to pay tithes. And, how can it be said that a man is
not
giving of necessity if he is obeying a LAW of tithing? How can
it
be said that a man is not giving of necessity, if he is
convinced
that he will be cursed with poverty if he fails to pay those tithes?
Certainly,
if
the
Apostle Paul thought he was authorized and obliged to
demand tithes, he would have brought it up in 1 Corinthians chapter
nine, where he asserts that he has a right to receive financial
support
from those he preaches to! Why doesn't Paul remind them that they are
obliged
to pay those tithes, and that he has a right to receive those tithes?

As to the only time the New Testament records Our
Lord telling anyone
to pay tithes; if this was understood as a command to the
Church,how come it is never reaffirmed by any of the Apostles?
Certainly, this
would have been a simple way to guarantee the income of the clergy.
Jesus,
in Matthew 23:34, is addressing the Pharisees, not His own disciples,
and
He calls the concern about tithing a gnat. And yet, to the
tithe
collectors of Apostate Christendom, the gnat IS the camel.

Ah! But I can hear the crowing! Someone out there
is eager to remind
me that Abraham paid tithes before the Law of Moses; so that makes it a
law for The Church. Let's just take a look at that story:

Heb.7:1

For this Melchisidec, King of Salem,
priest of the Most High God, who met Abraham returning from the
slaughter
of the kings and blessed him;

2

To whom also Abraham gave a tenth
part of all;. . .

4

Now consider how great this man
was, unto whom even the patriarch Abraham gave the tenth of the spoils.

n Genesis chapter 14, Abraham goes out to rescue
his nephew Lot, who
along with many others has been kidnapped. The kidnappers had ransacked
the towns of Sodom and Gomorrah where Lot lived, and were on their way
back to their own cities. Abraham took 318 servants with him, (boy was
he rich), and rescued Lot's family. He also took from the kidnappers
all
the loot they had obtained during their raids. After restoring the
personal
property of the residents of Sodom, he gave 10% of the loot to
Melchisidec.
This time, and this time only, are we ever told that Abraham pays
tithes
to anyone. There is no mention that he went home to round up 10% of the
goods he had there, and anyone who could produce his own 318 man army
was
not poor. We are nowhere told that Abraham ever paid tithes on any of
his
income again. If Abraham establishes a law for Christians regarding
tithing,
then if you give away 10% of your next windfall, you have imitated
Abraham.
The purpose of Hebrews chapter 7 is not to establish a law of tithing,
but to show how Jesus Christ was foreshadowed in symbols and figures
throughout
the Old Testament.

But then, someone will remember that Jacob said, Of
all
that
Thou
shalt
give me, I will surely give the tenth unto Thee (Gen.28:22).
We can presume from these words, that Jacob did, from that point, give
the
tenth to God: but to whom did he give it? How did he give it to
God? There were no "clergymen" around to collect these tithes,
and neither was there a Temple to bring them to. Perhaps Jacob gave
these tithes to the poor; perhaps they were consumed in
offerings by fire,
but one thing is for sure: these tithes were not going into someone's
"storehouse".
Note: this was not a command to Jacob from God, but a vow made by Jacob
to God. The antiquity of a practice does not make it a law for The
Church,
for circumcision also pre-dates The Law of Moses (John 7:22,
Gal.5:2).
I will in no way concede to THE LIE OF TITHING; but permit me to
surmise
here: that since our time, effort, our labor and our goods are all the
practical equivalent of money; devoted Christians will always give MORE
than 10% of all they have and all they get to God, in some way
that
God measures and recognizes.

I believe that those church members who take
security in paying tithes
would do well to consider these words of Our Lord Jesus Christ:

Matt.6:1

Take heed that ye do not your alms
before men, to be seen of them: otherwise ye have no reward of your
Father
which is in heaven.

2

Therefore when thou doest thine
alms, do not sound a trumpet before thee, as the hypocrites do in the
synagogues
and in the streets, that they may have glory of men. Verily I say unto
you, They have their reward.

3

But when thou doest alms, let not
thy left hand know what thy right hand doeth.

4

That thine alms may be in secret:
and thy Father, which seeth in secret, Himself shall reward thee openly.

Now tell me if you can, how you can keep your left
hand from
knowing what your right hand is doing if you are being careful
about
that 10%? This is a clear command by Our Lord Jesus Christ to NOT KEEP
TRACK of how generous we have been to church or charity. This also
applies
to keeping records of your giving for income tax purposes. If your
church
gives you that receipt at the end of the year for all your giving, you
know, and they know, just how much you have given. That the Lord told
the
Pharisees to not neglect paying tithes is a reflection of His judgement
on them: that they were not of His sheep. It was characteristic of Our
Lord to encourage the self righteous in their works, and even to
increase
the requirement, so as to show them that they were not made righteous
by
these works.

To anyone who dares to ask the question: How much
should I then give?
There is only one answer: EVERYTHING. Jesus said:

Luke.14:33

So likewise, whosoever he be of
you that forsaketh not all that he hath, he cannot be my disciple.

In the 18th chapter of Luke, a rich man asks the
Lord what he must do
to inherit eternal life. The Lord tells him to keep the commandments.
When
this
guy
proposes to the Lord that he has already kept all the
commandments (and this must include tithing), and still something
is
lacking; Jesus says to him: sell ALL that thou hast, and distribute
unto the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come and
follow
me (Luke 18:22). The man can't handle this, and goes away feeling
sorry
for himself. In the matter of money, paying tithes was not enough for
this
man to be justified in relation to his money. To anyone who needs to
ask,
"How much must I give up?", the answer is as it has always been: sell
ALL
that
thou hast.

The only pattern for how much to give in the New
Testament is in the
5th chapter of the Book of Acts. There, they gave everything they had:
and when Ananias and Sapphira claimed to have forsaken all,
when
in fact, they only gave a part, they were struck dead on the spot for lying
to the Holy Ghost.

In the end, paying tithes is just an easy way to
get around what it
means to FORSAKE everything. Consider how Jesus commands all of
His disciples to sell all and give it away:

Luke.12:33

Sell that ye have, and give alms:
provide yourselves bags which wax not old, a treasure in the heavens
that
faileth not, where no thief approacheth, neither moth corrupteth.

Can you tell me? How is it that professing
Christians dare to think
that if they have paid tithes that they have met the requirement for
true
discipleship? Is it not just a way to avoid facing up to what it
finally
means to forsake all?

I would like to take a moment here to make sure
that you understand
me. I do not go about counting anyone else's money. Just because a man
has the power to spend a lot of money doesn't mean that he hasn't given
it all up for Christ. Once a man has forsaken everything for Christ,
the
Lord may decide to make that man a steward over His money. A man who is
continuously forsaking all may also be continuously prospered. This
question:
Have you given up everything for Christ? Can only be answered by you
and
Christ. I make no judgements in the matter based on how prosperous
someone
else is. It's none of my business to judge how much money the Lord
gives
another man. It's none of your business either. What is your business,
is to settle up with Our Lord about your own life, and your own money.
If you lie to yourself about what is required to be the Lord's
disciple,
He knows. SO DO YOU!

TITHING AS A COVENANT OF PROSPERITY IS EFFECTIVE ONLY
FOR THOSE WHO SEEK TO BE JUSTIFIED BY THE LAW.

Luke.17:10

So likewise ye, when ye shall have
done all those things which are commanded you, say, We are unprofitable
servants: we have done that which was our duty to do.

There are only 3 reasons why anyone would
subscribe to the doctrine
of tithing as it is taught in Apostate Christendom today; they are:

1. They are in a state of spiritual immaturity
and ignorance. Some allowance
must be made for those who feel compelled to pay tithes, for they are
being
subjected to a relentless rant of warnings and promises by those who
wish
to collect those tithes. If they fear God and tremble at His
word (Isaiah 66:2), they will look into the Bible for themselves
and
see the truth sooner or later.

2. They think to pay God "His cut" so they can do
what they
like with the rest of their money. They also get to be approved by
their
peers.

3. They believe that paying tithes is like
investing money in the bank
or the stock market. They expect to be prospered by God for paying
tithes.
Often enough, they are prospered, so that the doctrine of prosperity
through
tithing appears credible.

Those that teach a doctrine of tithing for
Christians will often hold
out the promises of prosperity from the Old testament. The most popular
verse that is used to substantiate the doctrine of tithing for
prosperity
is Malachi 3:10. Let's review this significant verse.

Mal.3:10

Bring ye all the tithes into the
storehouse, that there may be meat in mine house, and prove me now
herewith,
saith the Lord of Hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven,
and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to
receive
it.

There's no doubt about it! This verse says that
if you will faithfully
pay your tithes that you will be prospered. The problem is, you
are not allowed to pick and choose which Old Testament laws that you
want
to recieve and which you want to ignore. The same promises are attached
to the other laws as well (Deut.12:28, 28:1- 6, Lev. 26:3-6).

As soon as you bind yourself to any promise that
is connected with obedience
to the Law, you have entered the covenant of the Law.

James.2:10

For whosoever shall keep the whole
law and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all.

Yet these tithe teachers think to teach that you
can ignore the whole
law except to obey in one point! Tithing was part of the civil
code
that governed the nation of Israel. Only the Levites were allowed to
collect
the tithes. Tithing is not a part of the Ten Commandments, is no where
commanded to The Church, and was neither taught nor practiced in
Christendom
until the the latter part of the 6th century. Tithing is a part of
God's
covenant with the Jews only.

Jer.31:31

Behold, the days come, saith the
Lord, that I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel,
and with the house of Judah.

32

Not according to the covenant
that I made with their fathers...

Heb.8:7

For if that first covenant had
been faultless, then should no place have been sought for the second.

8

For finding fault with them, He
saith, Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, when I will make a new
covenant
with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah:

13

In that He saith, a new covenant,
he hath made the first old. Now that which decayeth and waxeth old is
ready
to vanish away.

We, who claim to be Christians, have a NEW
COVENANT. For Christians,
the old arrangement is gone. Jesus said, The Law and the prophets
were
until John (Luke 16:16). In other words the covenant of The
Law,
as it was affirmed by the prophets, was ended at the appearing of John
the Baptist.

Gal.5:3

Christ is become of no effect unto
you, whosoever of you are justified by the law; ye are fallen from
grace.

I know that tithe teachers and tithe payers will
not SAY that they are justified by the law, and will insist
that their faith is
in Christ.
However, the Apostle Paul has it that any attempt to be justified in
any one point by the law is to fall from grace.
Circumcision
is the subject in Galatians chapter 5, but circumcision is only a part
of that ONE LAW. The tithe payer attempts to justify himself in this
one
respect: that he has given to God "His cut", and so is justified
by obedience to the law in this one matter. It's no different than
those
who insisted on being circumcised! They were not insisting on a
wholesale
return to the entire law of Moses; just this one point. The Apostle
Paul
says:

Gal.5:3

For I testify again to every man
that is circumcised, that he is a debtor to do the whole law.

And so it is with the tithe payer who justifies
his actions on the basis
of the Old Covenant. He has FALLEN FROM GRACE. Hear this again:

Gal.3:19

For as many as are of the works
of the law, are under the curse: for it is written, Cursed is everyone
that continueth not in all things which are written in the book
of the law to do them.

You simply cannot sneak into the Old Testament
and think to jerk one
rule out of it to take advantage of. You are under the curse if
you do, and you better perfectly perform the rest of the law as well,
or
you will end up cursed. This is no small matter to God. Listen
to
the Apostle Paul:

Phil.3:8

Yea, doubtless, and I count all
things but loss, for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my
Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count
them
but dung, that I may win Christ.

9

And be found in Him, not having
my own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which
is
through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith:

Whatever it is that you count as your righteousness,
is
that
from
which
you take your confidence towards God. If you feel like you
have
settled the money question with God by paying tithes, you have come under
the
curse: you have your own righteousness. The true and
obedient
disciple of Our Lord Jesus Christ is careful to not let his left
hand
know what his right hand doeth in matters of giving. He also knows
that except a man forsake ALL that he hath, he CANNOT be
Christ's disciple (Luke 14:33). He is not in any way entitled
to
the selfish
and personal use of the rest of his money just because he paid God His
"cut".

Let us consider the significance of Luke 17:10,
where Our Lord tells
us that after we have done all those things which are commanded
to us, that we are to say that We are unprofitable servants.
With
this one statement alone, Our Lord has dispelled any illusions that we
may have about God owing us something because we did what we thought
was
our duty in some small and singular matter. Any notion that God owes us
prosperity in exchange for tithing is utterly repudiated by one
statement
from the Apostle Paul:

Rom.11:35

Or who hath first given to Him,
and it shall be recompensed unto him again?

This statement not only condemns tithing for
prosperity, but every other
doctrine of "give to me and God will give to you" that the false
prophets of Apostate Christendom love to propound. I have even heard
them
"prophesying" that certain amounts of money would come to those
who call in pledges! Oh the abuses! The shame that is brought upon the
name of Our Lord because of these greedy men and their wicked, lying
teachings!
Listen again to the Apostle Paul:

1Tim.6:7

For we brought nothing into this
world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out.

8

And having food and clothing,
let us be therewith content.

9

But they that will be rich, fall
into temptation, and a snare, and into many foolish and hurtful lusts,
which drown men in destruction and perdition.

10

For the love of money is the root
of all evil; which while some coveted after, they have erred from the
faith,
and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.

Now we know that With God, all things are
possible (Matt. 19:24-26),
and there will be men and women in heaven who were very wealthy when
they
"fell asleep in Jesus", but these people are the exception. It
isn't very easy for a camel to get through the eye of a
needle.
I found it interesting that the Hebrew word for camel is the Aramaic
word
for ROPE. The oldest complete Bible in man's possession is the Aramaic
Peshitta from 200 A.D. In this Bible, Jesus is saying: it is easier
for a rope to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to
enter
the kingdom of God. Whether we are talking about a small gate in
the
wall of Jerusalem or the eye of a real needle, the meaning is the same.

You will remember that I said earlier, that many
who pay tithes do seem
to be rewarded by God for doing it. This I do not doubt, but consider
this:
(and I bet this will come as a surprize to most of you) eternal
salvation
and eternal life are NEVER offered in The Law of Moses as a reward for
obeying that law. Every promise that offers a reward for obeying The
Law
of Moses addresses TEMPORAL security and prosperity ONLY. Jesus said, Except
your
righteousness
exceed
the righteousness of the scribes and
Pharisees,
ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven
(Matt.5:20).
The word translated to exceed here does not mean "more than",
but "better than". Jesus is the mediator of a BETTER covenant,
which was established on BETTER promises (Heb.8:6); but the Law of
Moses promises long life, good health, prosperity, and power
over
all enemies to those who will obey it (Deut.28:1-13) The promises
of The New Testament include most of these things, but they are offered
as a reward for FAITH, and THEY INCLUDE ETERNAL LIFE. The
righteousness
that imbues one with eternal life is of a different quality than that
which
was obtainable through some relative performance of The Law of Moses.
Those
who take their security from some relative performance of The Law of
Moses
have fallen from grace, and these will be ultimately judged
according
to how well they obeyed the Mosaic Law of Tithing, AND the other 612
laws.
God uses these tithers to support his work in the earth, and he rewards
them according to the Mosaic promise, but ultimately, He regards these
people as strangers. That this is the case is illustrated by a
peculiar
incident in the life of Our Lord Jesus Christ, when He is asked about
the
temple tax.

Matt.17:24

And when they were come to Capernaum,
they that received tribute money came to Peter and said, Doth not your
master pay tribute?

25

he saith, Yes. and when he was
come into the house, Jesus prevented him, saying, What thinkest thou
Simon?
of whom do the kings of the earth take custom or tribute? of their own
children, or of strangers?

26

Peter saith unto Him, Of strangers.
Jesus saith unto him, Then are the children free.

27

Notwithstanding, lest we should
offend them, go thou to the sea, and cast an hook, and take up the fish
that first cometh up; and when thou hast opened his mouth, thou shalt
find
a piece of money; that take, and give it unto them, for me and thee.

Now every reference Bible on the market today is
going to tell you that
the word rendered tribute here means half shekel, and
will
give you Exodus 30:13 & 38:26 as references to this practice. It
was
a head tax that was levied on the population for the support of the
Temple.
Jesus, in calling the priesthood the kings of the earth, is not
flattering them. As soon as Our Lord arrived on the scene and they knew
of Him, their offices were no longer the hierarchy of heaven. Our Lord
explicitly stated that in His Church, none of the leaders should be
like the kings of the earth (Luke 22:25-27).

By the words Then are the children free,
Our Lord releases all
of His disciples from the obligation to pay any kind of tax, tithe, or
fixed amount on a regular basis towards the maintenance of His Kingdom.

This tribute, Our Lord says by agreeing with
Peter, is taken from strangers.
The term strangers in Hebrew parlance, always means those who
are
outside of God's covenant. And so it shall be fulfilled, that the
wealth
of the sinner is laid up for the just (Proverbs 13:22).

Some of the tithe collectors of Apostate
Christendom are so greedy for
their gain, that they will fasten on the words lest we should
offend
them, that were spoken by Our Lord, as their last attempt to prove
that you simply must PAY THOSE TITHES. I won't even let them get away
with
that. By saying lest we should offend them, Jesus is denying
that
the half-sheckel temple tax is binding on His disciples. Our Lord did
not
refuse to pay, but, He treats that temple-tax with contempt by telling
Peter to go fishing, and the first fish Peter catches has the exact
amount
of money in it's mouth that was needed to pay the Temple Tax for both
of
them. There is also no record of Our Lord paying any tithes after the
beginning
of His public ministry. Sometimes the true disciples of Our Lord Jesus
Christ will have to make some temporary concession to the Scribes and
Pharisees
for the sake of appearances, but when this is necessary, the Lord will
provide that money in such a way that it doesn't really cost you
anything.

As a matter of fact, that the tithe teachers of
Apostate Christendom
will continue to hunt and poke for every and any excuse to obligate you
to pay that tithe, indicates that they ARE the Pharisees of Matthew
23:23-24.

THOSE WHO DEMAND 10% OF EVERYTHING YOU GET ARE IDENTIFIED
WITH THE SCRIBES AND THE PHARISEES, WHO WERE THE HISTORIC ENEMIES OF
CHRIST.

Matt.23:1

Then spake Jesus to the multitude,
and to His disciples,

2

Saying, The Scribes and the
Pharisees sit in Moses seat:

3

All therefore whatsoever they bid
you observe, that observe and do; but do not ye after their works for
they
say, and do not.

I once was interested in joining a church that I
had visited a few times,
so I went to see the pastor. He presented me with a church creed that I
was expected to read, agree with, and sign. This was many years ago,
and
I now believe that "creeds"; being supposedly summaries of the
Christian faith, always add to or take away from The Word of God. At
that
time, though, I had more suspicions than convictions about many things.
I had no trouble agreeing with everything in this church creed except
the
article that stated that "God has ordained, through the Holy
Scriptures,
that tithing is the duty of every Christian for the support of the work
of the Church, and that this tithe was calculated against my pre-tax
income".
As humbly as I could, I begged for permission to present my case that
tithing
was not 10% of everything you get, and was not commanded to the church.
The pastor was willing, so I showed him all that you have just reviewed
in this article. Finally, he conceded that it was not possible to
substantiate
the doctrine of tithing in his church creed from the Bible; BUT, he
asserted
that the Lord told him that if anyone wanted to be a member of that
church,
they must agree to pay tithes. I agreed with him that he had the right
to make that stipulation as the pastor. I also agreed to pay the
tithes,
but only if he would rewrite the article on tithing in the creed so
that
it plainly stated that the requirement of tithing for the church
membership
came to him by revelation, and not from the Holy Scriptures. He
politely,
but firmly, informed me that there were plenty of other churches in
town,
and that I would be happier somewhere else.

You see, since only the Levites were permitted to
take tithes, and Moses
was of the tribe of Levi, this pastor presumed to sit in Moses seat. In
the time of Our Lord, there was only one "official" church house
in Israel: the Temple in Jerusalem. The modern tithe-teacher makes his
own church-house to be the practical equivalent of the Temple of God,
and
presumes to sit in Moses' seat. If I wish to attend his
"temple",
I am obliged to do whatsoever he bids me observe
and do.
But remember, God no longer dwells in temples made with hands
(Acts
7:48). If you have obliged yourself to someone who sits in Moses'
seat,
then pay tithes you must. There is a certain expense to maintaining the
building, the staff, and whatever else that is provided. They, the
people
of that church, have a right to expect a little help from anyone who
wants
to share in the use of their facilities. You have no right to take
advantage
of their programs, their building, their services, or their social
functions
unless you do something to help defray the cost. In the Medieval
Catholic
Church, and in many modern Jewish Synagogues, you "rent" your
own seat or pew for so much per year. I find this practice less
objectionable
than the false doctrine of tithing that is used in Apostate Christendom
today. The rent-a-pew idea is more honest, and does not establish a
false
doctrine. The big difference between the Pharisees of Ancient Israel
and
the Pharisees of Apostate Christendom is this:

Acts.17:24

God that made the world, and all
things therein, seeing that He is Lord of heaven and earth, dwelleth
not in temples made with hands;

25

Neither is worshipped with mens
hands, as though He needed anything, seeing, He giveth to all
life,
and breath, and all things:

The Apostle Paul, who preached this from Mars
Hill in Athens, heard
this spoken by the deacon Stephen before the Sanhedrin in Acts 7:48.
This
statement, The most high dwelleth not in Temples made with hands,
got
Stephen
killed,
for the religious leaders that had him on trial
knew
what such a statement could mean for their position and influence. Paul
was a witness to Stephen's trial and execution, and was compelled to
use
this statement himself in his own ministry.

Before Our Lord came on the scene, the Temple was
the physical center
of God's authority in the earth. Jesus said to the Pharisees: Behold,
your
house
is
left unto you desolate (Matt. 23:38). Since that
time,
God has no "temples made with hands" in the earth. You
owe no allegiance to any church-house unless you are personally
directed
there by the Holy Spirit. You can leave or refuse to attend any time
you
want. The Lord no longer has need of a building, or stained
glass
windows, or marble alters for His glory. These are all things that you
can have or not have as you are willing to pay for them. These
decorations
are for you, not for God.

Anyone who demands tithes has sat themselves down
in Moses' seat,
and the Lord tells us who it is that sits there: the Scribes and
Pharisees. They are still straining out the gnat, and
swallowing down the
camel
(Matt. 23:23-24). What makes them worse than the Pharisees of Our
Lord's
time is that they dare to claim that their church-house is the
practical
equivalent of the Jewish Temple! And besides, the house where Moses
sat is now pronounced desolate (God is not there).

Finally, let us consider the only person in the
Bible who demanded a
10% of everything you received: King Saul.

1Sam.8:15

And he will take the tenth of
your seed, and of your vineyards, and give to his officers and to
his
servants.

17

He will take the tenth of your
sheep: and ye shall be his servants.

Note that there is no discussion of increase
in these verses.
Saul will take 10% of everything you have, or get (and a lot more, too,
read the whole chapter). Listen to what the Lord says about King Saul:

1Sam.8:18

And ye shall cry out in that day
because of your king which ye shall have chosen you; and the Lord will
not hear you in that day.

And why is it that these people were willing to
put up with all of King
Saul's abuses?

1Sam.8:7

And the Lord said unto Samuel,
Hearken unto the voice of the people in all that they say unto thee:
for
they have not rejected thee (Samuel),
but they have rejected Me (God) that
I should not reign over them.

They will put up with their King Saul, and pay
him his 10%, because
it's easier to do that, then it is to grapple with these words of Jesus
Christ: Sell all that thou hast, and distribute unto the poor, and
thou
shalt have treasure in heaven: and come and follow me (Luke 18:22).

Luke.18:11

The Pharisee stood and prayed thus
with himself: God, I thank Thee that I am not as other men are,
extortioners,
unjust, adulterers, or even as this publican: